[Federal Register: March 31, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 61)]
[Notices]
[Page15372-15373]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr99-83]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Final Environmental Impact
Statement on the Proposed Expansion of the Big Muddy National Fish and
Wildlife Refuge in Missouri
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that a Final Environmental
Impact Statement on the Proposed Expansion of the Big Muddy National
Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Missouri will be available for public
review beginning March 30, 1999. Comments and suggestions are invited.
DATES: Comments may be submitted until May 3, 1999, and will be
considered during preparation of the Record of Decision.
[[Page 15373]]
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to: Ms. Judy McClendon, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 24385 State Highway 51, Puxico, Missouri
63960. Telephone: Toll-free 800/686-8339; or 573/222-6001. Individuals
with speech or hearing impairments may call the Missouri Relay Services
at 800/735-2966 (TTY). Fax: 573/222-6150. E-Mail: R3planning@fws.gov or
judy__mcclendon@fws.mail.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy McClendon at the address, phone
number, or E-Mail above. Individuals wishing copies of this
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for review should immediately
contact the above individual. Copies of the EIS or Summary have been
sent to all agencies and individuals who participated in the scoping
process and to all others who have already requested copies.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Ms. Judy McClendon, Wildlife Biologist, is
the primary author of this document. The Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), Department of the Interior, has prepared a final EIS on the
proposal to expand the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in
Missouri from its currently authorized 16,628 acres to a total of
60,000 acres.
The Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge expansion would be
accomplished by acquiring from willing sellers an additional 43,372
acres along the 20-county Missouri River floodplain from Kansas City,
Missouri, to St. Louis, Missouri, and the lower 10 miles of major
tributaries. Acquisition could include methods such as fee title
purchase, easements or agreements with landowners, partnerships, or
donations. Selection criteria, such as willing sellers, presence of
remnant floodplain ecosystems, and potential ecosystem restoration
capabilities, will be used to determine specific sites for acquisition.
Management goals of the Big Muddy project are to restore acquired
acreage to a natural floodplain condition which could include restoring
bottomland forests, improve and restore wetland values, improve fishery
and wildlife resources, and provide additional public use areas for
fish and wildlife dependent recreation.
This action is designed to preserve and restore the natural river
floodplain ecosystem, allow for management of viable and diverse fish
and wildlife habitats, and provide for compatible fish and wildlife
dependent recreation.
The major alternatives under consideration that were analyzed and
evaluated during planning are: (A) No Action. The Big Muddy National
Fish and Wildlife Refuge would not be expanded beyond the currently
authorized 16,628 acres. This acreage figure amounts to 2.7 percent of
the 800,000 acre floodplain in this reach of the Missouri River and is
insufficient to protect the health of the Missouri River floodplain
ecosystem; (B) Expand the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
to 60,000 acres by acquisition of 43,372 acres dispersed along the
Missouri River corridor from its confluence with the Kansas River, near
Kansas City, to its confluence with the Mississippi River, near St.
Louis, Missouri. Expansion under Alternative B (Preferred) would allow
approximately 8 percent of riverine habitat losses of the Missouri
River and its floodplain from Kansas City to St. Louis, Missouri to be
restored. This amount of floodplain ecosystem preservation, along with
a combined 30,000 acres to be acquired by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Missouri Department of Conservation, will equal about
12 percent of the subject floodplain. Natural resource managers in the
Midwest recommend preserving 10 to 20 percent of the floodplain.
Three other alternatives were considered but not analyzed. They
include: (C) seek permanent protection of fish, wildlife, and habitats
through cooperative agreements with landowners and other agencies with
no acquisition of lands; (D) encourage private land programs to
preserve or restore fish, wildlife, and their habitats without further
acquisition; and (E) acquire the entire Missouri River floodplain from
Kansas City to St. Louis, Missouri, about 800,000 acres.
Alternatives, C, D, And E were rejected because they did not have
the capacity to address the Service's mandated responsibilities, did
not provide permanent resource protection and restoration
opportunities, failed to meet the purpose and need for which the Big
Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established, or were
considered to be impractical and cost-prohibitive.
Other governmental agencies and members of the general public
contributed to the planning and evaluation of the proposal and to the
preparation of the EIS. The Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS was
published in the Federal Register on November 28, 1995. Public open
house meetings to receive comments on the Draft EIS were held in five
locations in November 1997; a 90-day public comment period began in
November 1997, and closed February 17, 1998. Over 500 comments were
received and considered during preparation of the Final EIS. The
Service gave presentations to county officials, conservation groups,
other interested parties and the media, and informed the public through
intermittent distribution of the Big Muddy Update. The Service's
mailing list has over 1,800 names.
All comments received by May 3, 1999, will be considered in
preparation of the Record of Decision for this proposed action.
Dated: March 22, 1999.
William F. Hartwig,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 99-7870 Filed 3-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M